The Good Old Days
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: Set after the Long Con. More Jate ending. Jack comforts Kate after Sawyer uses her. please r


**Following all the reviews from Whipped, I've come to realise that Jate really does need to happen more on the show, and until it does, the only place we're gonna find it is right here. So, I'm gonna add and change bits of episodes to make them more Jate-ish.**

**This one starts from the end of The Long Con.**

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Kate sat in the sand at the waters edge, letting the sight of the waves crashing down against the golden grains that appeared grey in the moonlight overcome her. She didn't know what time it was, only that it was very late, or perhaps very early. Either way, she knew she should be sleeping. Yet sleeping was the last thing on her mind right now. Her brain was working overtime, buzzing in her skull, rerunning phrases from the past few days.

_"I'm sorry that I'm not as perfect as you! I'm sorry that I'm not as good!"_

_"Are you?"_

_"You run, I con."_

Yes, she ran. It was true what Sawyer had said, as much as she hated to admit it. A tiger never changes its stripes. She had ran afterwards as well. She had ran to where she was right now, as far away from the others, from him, as she could get, on the edge of the ocean.

Exactly where he knew she would be.

He saw her sitting before the tide, silently, unmoving. Had she not been sitting up, he would have thought her asleep, although she could have been from the way that her head rested on her arm. Ever since he had seen her with that gun to her head, he hadn't been able to look her in the eye, just in case he failed her again. He wanted to believe that he could save anyone, but having seen the desperation in her eyes, he came to the startling realisation that anyone of them could be next to die.

Including her.

He stood in the centre of the camp, having just checked Aaron for Claire before she had put him down to sleep for the night. He should be returning to the caves, to the hatch, anywhere but staying here where he was of no use to anyone. On second thoughts, if he went to the hatch, Locke would be there, and he would clearly have an outburst from him following Sawyer's actions; and as he looked upon Kate's still figure, he realised that there was someone who needed him here at the beach.

He sighed, giving into his temptations and walking down the beach towards where she sat. She made no moves to show him that she knew he was there. Maybe it was better that way - she wasn't refusing him that way. Ever since she had run from him, she had been spending all her time with Sawyer. He hadn't wanted to, but he had overheard her conversation with Sawyer when she had confronted him. He had heard her break down, and it had weighed him down so much to know that she was so broken, and that he couldn't fix her.

He sat down silent beside her in the sand. There was a safe few inches between them to allow space for the awkwardness that had settled over the past week. For a few minutes, neither of them said nothing. It was nothing like the old days, when there was the spark but no flame between them, a flame which had long since kindled out where neither had tended to it. They stared at the ocean, not at each other. It was difficult for either of them to find something to say, but it was Jack that spoke first.

"I'm sorry..." He began, and she turned to look at him briefly with a strange expression of surprise. "...about Sawyer."

She turned back to the sea. "I'm Ok." She muttered with no emotion in her voice.

He dipped his head a little. Even anger in her voice was better than the emptiness at the moment. How long did they sit again in silence? The moon had moved higher in the sky when Kate next spoke.

"He betrayed me."

It was a pitiful cry for help. When Jack turned his head to face her again, he could see the unshed tears brimming in her eyes as she fought against them.

"Kate..."

"He used me." She whispered again, bowing her head so that he couldn't see her face clearly. It was no use though, he could hear in her voice that she was crying silently. "And I was so stupid that I didn't even think he would."

As her back heaved slightly with a concealed sob, Jack shuffled that few inches closer, healing the gap between them and putting his arm around her shoulders.

"It's alright, Kate." He told her, unsure of what else to say.

"No it's not. He used me for this. I helped him, Jack. He used me to get the guns. It's all my fault." She said, now crying fully without holding back. Perhaps it was because she had held in so many tears that past week that she couldn't hide them anymore.

"It's not your fault." He assured her. "No one blames you for this at all."

"Until Sawyer blurts everything out about me again." She mused, remembering how he had revealed her to everyone before.

"Kate, don't think like that." Jack said softly. He couldn't tell her that he wouldn't do it, because that was what Sawyer did. When people accused him, he dragged someone else down with him. That person was nearly always Kate.

She crumbled completely, and he held her in his arms while she cried. She felt so delicate against him, unsure of herself, of what to do. The guidance she needed wasn't coming from her mind anymore.

"I'm sorry, Kate." Jack told her. "I'm sorry that I've been such an ass these past few days."

He had finally said it. He had apologized.

Kate sat up from leaning against him, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry too." She said tiredly, finally defeated. "I shouldn't have ran."

"I should have protected you." Jack mused. Kate looked at him in curiosity. "When I saw you with a gun to your throat, I just broke down inside. I couldn't think. It was all my fault. If you, if you'd have died, it would have been because of me. I never would have been able to tell you."

"Tell me what?" She asked.

"That I was sorry for not coming after you." He said with a sure nod. "When you ran, I wanted to come after you."

She looked away and nodded slightly. "I enjoyed it, y'know?" She said softly. "I know that it's wrong, but I did."

"It's not wrong." He assured her. "I did as well."

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Then Kate gave him a small smile. "Jack, can we just start over? Go back to how it was before?" She asked him.

He thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah..." He said softly. "I guess I'll just have to fall in love with you all over again."

Kate couldn't hide her smile that time. Jack gave her a soft kiss on the lips, and then got to his feet.

"C'mon. I'll walk you back to your tent." He said.

Kate stood up, and took his outstretched hand, smiling.

Just like the good old days.


End file.
